This invention relates to a tool for use in the installation of air-conditioning ductwork. In a typical installation, there are a variety of seams or junctions of ductwork that are required to be wrapped with tape. The tape must be tacked or stapled in position, and then a mastic coating is painted over the tape to seal the junctions. The fabric used to wrap the joints is customarily woven fiberglass, available in long strips approximately three inches wide rolled onto spools. After stapling the fabric tape to a seam the installer then cuts the tape from the source. Previously the installer had to carry both a staple tacker and a knife. To cut the fiberglass tape the installer had to set aside the staple tacker in order to free both hands for the step of cutting away the excess tape. This is not as convenient or as fast as having one tool that can be used for both operations. Moreover because of the toughness of the fiberglass, it must be cut, not torn, and care must be taken that the newly installed staples are not pulled out of the ductwork by tension on the fabric as it is being cut. It is thus advisable to have a straight-edged cutting device to apply some retainzing pressure against the stapled tape on the ductwork to counter any pulling on the tape as it is being cut. An ordinary knife is not very suitable for this purpose.
A combination tool with staple-clenching means, tape dispenser and tape-cutter is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,820 to Kwong Li Lou. However this device cannot possibly be used for taping air-conditioning ductwork. There is no way that a staple-clencher can be used on ductwork because the ductwork cannot be inserted between the staple-driving means and the base. Also, this device has a plethora of complex moving, pivoting parts that unnecessarily add to the cost of manufacture without increasing the tool's efficiency or usefulness.
Accordingly it is the purpose of the present invention to eliminate the above-mentioned cumbersome inconveniences and costly complex mechanisms, and to provide a simple cost-effective combination tool which enables the installer to more quickly and easily staple and cut the fabric used to tape duct seams.